Those are some of the numbers that recap the wild group stage of the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

The boys kicked it off in Nashville where they debuted their new red and navy blue kit against a very determined Panama squad. Sorry, but can we just talk about these kits for a second. THEY ARE AMAZING! We’ve been asking for more patriotism being displayed in our uniforms (@ USWNT world cup kit) and Nike+ finally delivered. Okay, back to the game. Dom Dwyer scored the only USA goal of the match in the 50th minute off of a Kelyn Rowe assist.

On July 12th, the USMNT played Martinique in Tampa. Jordan Morris was the star of this show. The 22 year old scored 2 goals in this match, and Omar Gonzalez added on the third. Martinique scored 2. The game ended 3-2, with the US picking up 3 points.

On July 15th, the USMNT played Nicaragua in Cleveland. There was 3 different goal scorers in this dominant performance. Joe Corona, Kelyn Rowe, and Matt Miazga (!) all picked up a goal. Going into this game we knew that they needed to win by 3 goals to win group B and avoid playing Costa Rica in the Quarterfinals. Although they won 3-0 it could’ve been 5-0. There was 2 penalty kick calls in the USA’s favor. Dom Dwyer took the first and Joe Corona took the second, both kicks were saved.

A couple notes:

Kelyn Rowe: My hometown hero had a breakthrough performance. He scored his first international goal, started 2 of the games, and played extremely well (I mean did you guys see him completely mix 2 Panamanian defenders to assist Dom Dwyer’s goal?!). He definitely made everyone back in Seattle and New England proud!

Matt Miazga is back?: If you told me at the end of 2015 that Matt Miazga would only have 3 caps and his first goal would be in the 2017 Gold Cup, I would’ve told you that you were crazy! Anyways that’s the case, but he is definitely making a comeback, with a shutout and a goal he should be in the conversation for center back pairings going forward.

The BFFs do national team: My personal favorite MLS player, Cristian Roldan joins his Seattle Sounders FC teammate and self proclaimed best friend Jordan Morris for the Gold Cup. After being ½ of arguably the best MLS center defensive midfield pairing with Osvaldo Alonso and getting a call up to January camp, many fans suspected that it was time he gets his first cap with the USMNT, and on July 12th he did!

Out with the new in with the old? : After group stage, teams are allowed to substitute 6 players on their roster. Head coach Bruce Arena took full advantage of this opportunity and swapped several newbies for seasoned vets + an upcoming star.

The USMNT faced off against Mexico at high altitude for a crucial World Cup Qualifying match. An hour before the match when the lineup was released on twitter, fans got a little nervous. There was a lot of questions surrounding this particular eleven with only 6 of the 11 who played against Mexico on November 11th, 2016. Some questions USA fans had were: Where is Clint Dempsey? Where is John Brooks? Where is Tim Howard? These ‘key’ players were replaced with the likes of Kellyn Acosta, Omar Gonzalez, and Brad Guzan.

Here are some quick theories on why I think Bruce Arena chose this lineup. The game takes place in Mexico City, Mexico which is 7,382 feet above sea level! It’s not an easy transition for someone who plays at for example, 581 feet above sea level (Clint Dempsey in Seattle, Washington). In this group of 23 guys, we have players who play in Mexico and who are already adapted to the altitude. So when you have two players who play the same position like Omar Gonzalez and John Brooks, and Omar Gonzalez plays at 8,000 feet altitude compared to John Brooks 300 feet, you’re going to go with Omar Gonzalez.

Also, there are several players who are on the verge of yellow card suspension. Those players are Jozy Altidore, Alejandro Bedoya, Matt Besler, Bradley, John Brooks and Cameron. So when you have players that have dependable replacements i.e John Brooks, you can save them from what we all know is a chippy rivalry match.

The doubt would quickly be set aside when Michael Bradley (Yes, Michael Bradley!) unleashed his inner Carli Lloyd and chipped the Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa from about 40 yards out in the 5th minute. I guess it is a captain America thing 😉

The lead didn’t last very long. In the 23rd minute after a missed chance for the US in the box, Mexico countered and Carlos Vela slotted a low ball into the right post.

Overall, the game was pretty chippy, but what else do you expect? It’s against Mexico and at Estadio Azteca in front of 71,537. However, there were only 2 yellow cards issued in this match, and both to the United States. DeAndre Yedlin got one in the 42nd minute for persistent infringement and Paul Arriola also got cautioned in the 56th.

After the results of this match, the United States are currently in 3rd place in the Hex with 8 points. There are 4 more games in the Hex, with the qualifiers concluding in October. The next USMNT World Cup Qualifying game is on September 1st against Costa Rica.

The USMNT beat Honduras 6-0 in a huge World Cup qualifying game. They are in the “Hex” which is 6 CONCACAF teams (USA, Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago, Honduras, Panamá, and Costa RIca) competing against each other for 3 spots in the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The 6 teams will all play each other twice (one home and one away), and the 3 teams with the most points will automatically qualify for the World Cup, the team in 4th place will have to play an inter-confederation play-in game to qualify.

Prior to this game, the USMNT were in last place, with 0 points in 2 games. They lost to Mexico 2-1 on November 11th, and they also lost to Costa Rica 4-0 on November 15th.

The goal scorers for this game were Clint Dempsey (3), Sebastian Lletget (1), Michael Bradley (1) and Christian Pulisic (1).

The Budweiser Man of the Match Clint Dempsey scored his first goals since June 16th, 2016 during the Copa America. He has been sidelined from national team duty after being diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat.